INFORMED CONSENT FORM (PLEASE READ)
Date of Acadia University Research Ethics Board Approval: October 8, 2016
Title of the Study: Sermon Inc.
Principal Investigator: Danny R. Smith, Acadia Divinity College
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Stephen McMullin, Acadia Divinity College
Thank you for expressing an interest in participating in this research study. My name is Danny Smith and I will be the principal investigator undertaking a research project entitled: Sermon Inc. This research project will be completed under the supervision of Dr. Stephen McMullin so that I may fulfill the requirements of the Doctor of Ministry program at the Acadia Divinity College.
The purpose of my research project is to investigate what kinds of sources clergy in Atlantic Canada make use of in sermon preparation, how they make use of these sources, and what boundaries they feel are appropriate in making use of the various sources available to them. My interest is especially in how, in recent years, the prevalence of online resources available to clergy is being utilized in the process of sermon preparation. It is my hypothesis that the rise of the Internet has changed the way clergy prepare sermons and I want to see what, if any, effect this phenomenon has had on clergy here in Atlantic Canada.
As a participant, you will be asked to complete the brief questionnaire that follows. This questionnaire should take 10 minutes or less to complete. You will first be asked some general information regarding yourself and your current involvement in the church you attend. The rest of the questionnaire will focus on questions regarding your expectations for preachers in how they utilize various types of sources in their sermon preparation and composition.
It should be noted that questions 13, 14, and 15 are based in part on a survey conducted by Craig Brian Larson in 2003/2004 for Preaching Today.com.1
Before you fill out the survey, I would like to reassure you of the rights you have as a research participant. First, your participation in this research is entirely voluntary and you are free to refuse to answer any of the questions asked in the questionnaire. Furthermore, you are free to withdraw your participation in this research at any point while filling out the questionnaire. Because the questionnaires are anonymous, it will not be possible to withdraw a completed questionnaire from the study once it has been submitted. By completing this brief questionnaire, you are indicating your consent to be a participant in the study. Although there are no known harms associated with this research, by indicating your consent, you do not waive any rights you have to legal recourse in the event of research-related harm.
Your answers to the following questions will be held in strict confidence. Survey responses will be held on the secure servers owned by LimeSurvey.Acadiau.ca and all data will remain here in Canada. Only my supervisor and I will have access to any data collected and it will be stored on a password protected computer. After a period of two years the responses will be deleted from the LimeSurvey.Acadiau.ca server.
Your participation is very important to me. Should you like to request any further information please feel free to contact me either by e-mail (pastor.dannysmith@gmail.com) or by telephone (902-824-2080). For any questions with respect to the supervision of this research project please contact: Dr. Stephen McMullin (stephen.mcmullin@acadiau.ca). This research has been reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Board at Acadia University. If there are any questions regarding ethical issues, please contact Dr. Stephen Maitzen (smaitzen@acadiau.ca), Chair of the Research Ethics Board.
You are eligible to participate in this study only if you are 18 years of age or older. Completing and submitting this survey will serve as your electronic signature indicating you have read this informed consent form and that you agree to participate in this research project.
1 Brian Craig Larson, "Plagiarism, Shmagiarism," Preaching Today.com, 2005, http://www.preachingtoday.com/skills/themes/purity/200503.48.html (accessed October 24, 2016).
There are 15 questions in this survey.
